Delran’s original soccer legend makes area return

Monday

One of the most accomplished men’s soccer players in United States history marveled as Carli Lloyd historically powered the United States women’s national team to a World Cup title this summer.

More remarkable, Peter Vermes and Lloyd both grew up in the 7.2-square mile township of Delran, both attended Delran High School, both played at Rutgers University, and both have represented their country in the Olympics and World Cup.

“There was instantaneous pride,” Vermes said via telephone from Kansas City late last week. “There’s a lot of connection there. It’s one thing to just see all of those connections, but for her to do so well, it was tremendous.

“There’s a lot of soccer tradition in Delran,” said Vermes, the 1984 Delran High graduate who led the Bears boys’ team to the first of their eight state championships back in 1983 by scoring the winning goal with less than 20 seconds left in overtime.

“I played for a coach in high school, Bob Surette, who was the ultimate when it came to hard work. You had to carry yourself every day. There’s no doubt that I’m a big believer that the hardest steel has to go through the hottest fire. And I can tell you, I went through some fire in those young days.

“There’s a blue-collar mentality in Delran that was always, especially when I was growing up, very prevalent. There’s a toughness and I think that was really evident in (Carli’s) play. The way she went about her evolution through the (World Cup) tournament, you could just see the way that she was playing.

"She was pushing her team along and at times she was pulling her team along. And, I really believe this, if she was not on that team, I think it would’ve been very difficult for them to have the kind of run that they did. She was that key player to the team. She was tremendous.”

Vermes, who scored 109 career goals at Delran, became an all-American and was runner-up in the National Player of the Year voting in 1987, when he helped Rutgers to its first NCAA tournament appearance in 26 years. He was inducted into the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame in 2013. But he never forgets his roots and so he was thrilled to see a fellow Delran native achieve at such a high level.

“I know where I’m from, I grew up in New Jersey, I grew up in Delran,” said Vermes, whose name graces the Delran Soccer Club’s fields on Tenby Chase Drive. “It is the basis and the foundation of everything of who I am today. So just from that standpoint alone, and just the connection to Delran, was everything and I was absolutely, incredibly impressed (with Carli), not just in the final but just her entire evolution through the group stage, quarterfinals, semifinals, finals.

"She was no doubt the leader of that team in her mentality and also in her play. It was great to see. I’m very, very happy for her and, more importantly, proud that she comes from the same city that I was from.”

Vermes will be making a return trip to the Delaware Valley this week as the manager and technical director of Major League Soccer’s Sporting KC. His team will play the Philadelphia Union in the U.S. Open Cup final on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at PPL Park in Chester, Pennsylvania, with the Lamar Hunt Cup up for grabs.

Vermes guided Sporting KC to the U.S. Open Cup title in 2012 by outlasting Seattle 3-2 in a penalty kick shootout after the two teams played to a 1-1 draw. Before he became coach, Vermes’ team also won the cup in 2004 when it was known as the Kansas City Wizards.

Meanwhile, the Union are hosting the U.S. Open Cup final for the second straight year and are seeking redemption after losing 3-1 to Seattle at PPL Park in 2014.

Vermes, who grew up as a Philadelphia sports fan, knows that his team won’t be welcomed warmly by Union fans.

“It’s a great environment. The fans (in Philadelphia) are fantastic,” said Vermes. “I grew up as a fan of the Eagles, the Flyers, the Sixers, Phillies. The bottom line, the fans are the fans (there) and I have an appreciation for their commitment to their teams, and the fact that they look to try and intimidate when other teams come in here. I’m used to it.

“We’ve played there many times and I don’t expect it to be any different than any other time we’ve been there. They have a great following with the Sons of Ben. They’ve done a tremendous job and they were incredibly influential even before they had a team. That was an amazing aspect of it. That following is tremendous. We know that we’re going into the den of the lion and we have an uphill climb playing away from home.”

What about the opportunity of playing for a championship so close to home with many family members and close friends in attendance?

“I’m probably not that deep in thought about it,” said Vermes, who led his team to the MLS Cup championship in 2013 and is the only person to win the MLS title as both a player and coach with the same team. “I’m more of a guy that thinks (that) whenever you get a chance to play for a championship, you’re very privileged because those opportunities don’t come around a lot.

“Obviously, coming back to that area is a part of it, for sure. I still have family, I have a tremendous amount of friends and everything back there. But, at the end of the day, I’m coming with the opposing team. So like I said, we’re going into the den of the lion and everything is stacked up against us and all of the cards are in their favor. We realize that and we’ll do the best we can to make a good match of it.”